Jon Lester allowed four hits and no walks in 7 2/3 innings in Game 5. / USA TODAY Sports

by Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

by Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

ST. LOUIS ‚?? Jon Lester has won two games in this World Series, twice outpitching Adam Wainwright while allowing one run in a total of 15 1 /3 innings. And yet he has virtually no chance to win MVP honors.

David Ortiz's cartoonish numbers, including a .733 batting average after going 3-for-4 in the Boston Red Sox's 3-1 victory in Monday's Game 5, virtually assure him the award.

Lester will gladly settle for simply earning the ring, and perhaps a bit of recognition as one of the top big-game pitchers of his generation.

The Red Sox left-hander cemented that status Monday with his second brilliant start of the World Series, holding the St. Louis Cardinals to four hits and one run over 7 2/3 innings in a victory that put Boston one win short of the championship.

The outing made Lester just the fifth pitcher ever to give up one run or less in his first three World Series starts. Combined with his victory in the 2007 championship clincher, he is 3-0 with an 0.43 ERA in his World Series appearances.

"He's our backbone. He's our horse when he's out there,'' catcher David Ross said. "We expect a lot out of him. He's pitching like the ace he is.''

That distinction became the subject of debate in New England this summer, as Lester's ERA climbed to an unsightly 4.60 while fellow starter Clay Buchholz was winning his first nine decisions to go with a 1.71 ERA.

The topic hasn't come up for a while anymore, partly because an injury derailed Buchholz's season, but in large measure because Lester reasserted himself with a terrific second half that featured a 7-2 record and a 2.57 ERA.

Lester said the All-Star break gave him a chance to regroup, and the Cardinals have felt the full force of his repertoire, mustering a total of nine hits against him.

"He has the ability to throw that cutter that looks like it's going to hit you, and it comes around and never goes over the plate, but the guy catches it for a strike,'' Cardinals leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter said. "That is not an easy pitch to throw. It's a pretty unhittable pitch."

Especially so when he moves it around. Pitching coach Juan Nieves said once the St. Louis hitters started to look for the cutter in, Lester shifted it to the other side of the plate and mixed it with his curveball.

Except for Matt Holliday's fourth-inning home run, St. Louis didn't get any runners to third base. Lester was in such command, former teammate Gabe Kapler tweeted that he looked as if he were in a "Zen mode.''

"I'm glad it looked that way,'' said Lester, who lowered his career postseason ERA to 1.98 in 11 starts. "It doesn't matter how many games at this stage you play, your nerves are going, your heart rate is going. It's just a matter of, once you kind of settle in, realizing it's baseball.''

Matched up with Wainwright for the second time in the series, Lester again had the upper hand, giving up no walks and retiring 12 batters in a row after the Holliday homer.

The performance was strikingly reminiscent of his outing in Game 1, when Lester also went 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and no runs as Boston won an 8-1 laugher.

Both times he showed a laser-like focus.

In the seventh inning Monday, a large paper airplane floated Lester's way. Unperturbed, he picked it up, handed it to a bat boy and got Yadier Molina on a lineout to end the inning.

Ross said the moment gave rise to some levity, with him, Molina and home plate umpire Bill Miller commenting on the plane.

Lester was so sharp, manager John Farrell let him bat in the seventh with runners on second and third, one out and the Red Sox holding on to a 2-1 lead. Lester bounced out meekly to Wainwright, but Jacoby Ellsbury drove in an insurance run with a single.

It would prove unnecessary, as Lester and closer Koji Uehara combined to get the Red Sox one step closer to the title, which would be Lester's second.

Ortiz recalled a conversation he had with Lester during the 2007 championship season.

"As a player, he told me straight up that he was going to be the future of the organization, the ace,'' Ortiz said, "and there he is, doing what he does at his best.''